APS announces plan to make up snow days

Atlanta students will be in school 30 minutes longer as a way to make up for days the district closed because of weather.

Atlanta Public Schools announced Monday that it would add 30 minutes onto the end of the school day, beginning Jan. 29 and ending March 30. The extra classroom time will help the district make up for some of the seven days it has lost so far this school year because of ice, snow, and Tropical Storm Irma. The longer schedule means elementary schools will release students at 3 p.m., high schools at 4 p.m. and middle schools at 4:35 p.m., the district said.

“With each school cancellation, I grew more concerned about the significant loss of instructional time our students had suffered,” said superintendent Meria Carstarphen, in a written statement. “Although Atlanta Public Schools has the flexibility and autonomy with operational decisions and is therefore not required by the state to make up days, we know that it’s important to identify possible options for our community to consider and weigh in on. Stakeholder feedback influenced our decision significantly.”